Tennis racket grip

Abstract

A grip for a racket for tennis and other similar games which includes relatively flat faces on one side for engagement with the thumb and fingers and a rounded or elliptical face disposed on the opposite side of the grip from the flat faces for engagement with the palm of the hand. Corners at the intersection of the flat faces provide control of the racket while the rounded portion nestles in the palm for a comfortable and secure gripping of the racket to prevent rotation thereof. The same grip may be used either for a forehand or backhand position and either for a left handed or right handed person, merely by inversion of the racket.

What is claimed is : 
     
       1. A hand held sporting implement comprising: a generally planar racket face;   a generally straight handle secured to said racket face and extending therefrom; and   a grip disposed on an end of said handle spaced from said racket face, said grip comprising: a front portion disposed on one side of said racket face and being comprised of no more than three flat, angularly disposed external gripping surfaces, said gripping surfaces being adapted to be engaged by the thumb and fingers of a hand of a user;   a pair of lateral surfaces disposed generally normally of said racket on opposite sides of said handle; a distance between said lateral surfaces defining a width of said handle and   a rear portion disposed on a side of said racket face opposite of said front portion and having a continuous, smoothly curved external gripping surface extending across the entire width of said handle from one of said lateral surfaces to the other, said rear portion being adapted to reside in the palm of the hand of the user.     
     
     
       2. A sporting implement as recited in claim 1 wherein said rear portion has a thickness measured normally to said racket face greater than the thickness of said front portion measured normally to said racket face. 
     
     
       3. A sporting implement as recited in claim 1 wherein said rear portion has a semi-elliptical cross-sectional configuration. 
     
     
       4. A sporting implement as recited in claim 1 wherein said rear portion has a generally semi-circular cross-sectional configuration. 
     
     
       5. A sporting implement as recited in claim 1 wherein said front portion has a generally trapezoidal cross-sectional configuration. 
     
     
       6. A sporting implement as recited in claim 1 wherein a normal thickness of said front portion transverse of said racket face is a fixed, predetermined value and a normal thickness of said rear portion transverse of said racket face is related to the desired grip size. 
     
     
       7. A sporting implement as recited in claim 1 wherein said front portion comprises a first pallet having a trapezoidal cross-sectional shape and said rear portion comprises a second pallet having a partial elliptical cross-sectional shape, said first and said second pallets being secured to said handle. 
     
     
       8. A sporting implement as recited in claim 7 wherein said first and said second pallets are formed of wood. 
     
     
       9. A sporting implement as recited in claim 7 wherein said first and said second pallets are formed of a plastic foam. 
     
     
       10. A sporting implement as recited in claim 7 wherein said first and said second pallets are formed of a molded plastic material. 
     
     
       11. A hand held sporting racket comprising: a generally planar racket face;   a generally straight handle secured to said racket face and extending from said racket face generally parallel thereto, said handle comprising: a centrally disposed rectangular shaft having a width extending generally parallel to said racket face;   a front pallet secured to said shaft and disposed on one side of said racket face, said front pallet having a generally trapezoidal cross-sectional configuration and having three, flat, angularly disposed external gripping surfaces adapted to be engaged by the thumb and fingers of the hand of a user;   a rear pallet secured to said shaft and disposed on a side of said racket face opposite of said front pallet, said rear pallet having a generally partially-elliptical cross-sectional configuration, said rear pallet having a thickness normal to said racket face greater than the thickness of said front pallet normal to said racket face, said rear pallet having a continuous, curved, external surface adapted to reside in the palm of the hand of a user and extending across the entire width of said shaft; and gripping material covering external surfaces of said front pallet, said rear pallet and said shaft.